At
age 89, Doug Dowd is a wonder. He's still active, vibrant and thankfully
so. He calls himself a "radical economist" in the best sense
of the term, and for more than 50 years through the late 1990s, he
was a distinguished interdisciplinary professor of economic history
and more at Cornell, UC Berkelely and elsewhere. It went along with
his activism, progressive thinking, honest concern for the least advantaged,
and love of teaching young people. He's no different today, except
that he's semi-retired, living full-time in Bolonga, Italy, nearing
his 60th year teaching at nearby Modena University, and approaching
his 10th decade.

Dowd also
authored many scholarly writings, numerous articles, and many books
on cutting-edge economic, political and social issues. Included are
Capitalism and Its Economics, the two-volume Broken Promises of America,
and his newest and subject of this review, At the Cliff's Edge: World
Problems and US Power.

Doud dedicates
his book to his students in America and Italy. "More than a few
of (them) have become dear friends." They've thanked him for
his teaching, and this book is his "opportunity to thank them."

He's witnessed
history longer than most others and cites his concerns. "The
world now stands on 'a cliff's edge' " below which he sees "four
related groups of horrors: existing and likely wars, a fragile world
economy, pervasive and deepening corruption, and the earth dangerously
near the 'tipping point' of environmental disaster." Add one
more for good measure - a disdainful administration heading the world
for potential disaster, uncaring about what it's doing, and leaving
its mess for a successor.

For Dowd,
it's ominous and disturbing. We may be at "the last stop"
of a centuries-long voyage. It produced 15th to 18th century colonialism
and nationalism. They, in turn, spawned capitalism and industrialism,
and then combined "transformed colonialism into imperialism."

Dowd wrote
his book for a purpose. He learned as a student and teacher that what's
in it isn't taught or publicly discussed. His classes were never that
way. It's why they were and are still so popular, and why one of his
former students asked him to write a needed classroom text. As a high
school social studies teacher he found none that were "readable,
pertinent, and accessible." Dowd's book fills the vacuum. It's
broad in scope, clearly written, easily understood, and a wonderful
primer for students. Adults also, and it covers 500 years to the present.
In it, he's critically unsparing in his assessment - of the modern
era and what preceded it.

The book
is panoramic in scope. It's long and detailed, and this review covers
its highlights in hopes readers will get the volume for it all. Plus
the character of the man who wrote it and now working on a new so
far unfinished book with likely more offerings ahead. Approaching
age 90, Dowd is resilient, dedicated and continues to write and teach.
We're all the better off for it. Read on.

In a moment
of reflection, he imagines what America could and should be, not what
it is. Therein lies the problem. We have an "unconscious way....of
seeing ourselves....as something special (or) better" than others.
Hardly so about a country one observer describes as being "a
marriage of all that's admirable with all that's appalling" with
an emphasis on the latter now and worsening. Instead of being virtuous,
"we have evolved toward something like its opposite." Dowd
equates the gap between "our realities and our ideals" to
"the Grand Canyon."

And sitting
in its "dirty center....are three unacknowledged ways of life,
attitudes, (and) values that have been mutually supportive:

In his
forward, Dowd gives examples but laments that they're not taught in
classrooms. One was the Compromise of 1877 unknown to most readers.
It was after the Civil War during Reconstruction when northern troops
occupied the South. Blacks were nominally free, and southern whites
were furious to see them hold office, be policemen, eat in public
places, and so forth. The so-called Compromise ended the occupation
and "freed whites to do as they wished to black men, women and
children." It took almost a century to end Jim Crow laws, savage
lynchings, and a federal government committed to stopping them.

Before
it happened, here's what the North got in return. The right to exploit
southern resources, its mines, railroads, factories, cheap labor,
and keep blacks de facto slaves as sharecroppers with no schools,
voting rights, safety or any legal recourse from the state. For them,
everything changed, yet everything remained the same.

Another
example is notable with memories of two stolen elections still vivid.
In the 1876 (US) presidential election, Samuel Tilden got "today's
equivalent of 2 million more popular votes than (Rutherford B.) Hayes."
In all elections, electoral college votes are decisive. Hayes was
awarded one more than Tilden, but 20 votes were disputed, so a congressional
committee got to decide. In secret session, a deal was struck to make
Hayes president. In hindsight, there's no doubt that the election
was stolen in similar fashion to the Supreme Court giving it to George
Bush in 2000.

Marc Crispin
Miller's book then documented the encore in 2004 - electoral fraud
writ large in a process even more one-sided than in 2000. Miller's
account makes persuasive reading. "Fooled Again: The Real Case
for Electoral Reform" shows what we're up against and what to
look forward to going forward unless sweeping electoral reform is
undertaken.

Part I
- The Beginnings and Growth of the Modern World

Dowd observes
how terribly wrong things are today - too much poverty, hunger, war,
anger, privilege and too little of what's essential to make life tolerable.
His book explains how it evolved - "but need not stay this way."

He cites
what he calls the "Big Four" - colonialism (now imperialism),
capitalism, nationalism, and industrialism. They're "processes,"
not "things," and each "fed the others."

Colonialism
began in the late 1400s, and "explorer-heros" like Columbus
advanced it. It was brutal, ugly, racist, and violent. Over three
centuries it spanned the world and made way for what followed. Thomas
Hobbes described life then as "nasty, brutish and short."
With today's scientific advances, it should be better but isn't. It's
"worse than ever....because of a maldistribution of power"
- too much at the top and mass misery at the bottom and worsening.
Add the nuclear threat and potential ecological disaster, and you
get the point.

As the
world's leading superpower and richest nation, America bears most
responsibility - what's wrong and how to fix it. We're not alone,
but "the USA is largely responsible for bringing the world to
the cliff's edge."

Colonialism:
The Earliest of the Big Four

It began
in the Mediterranean region, then spread everywhere through trade,
financial activities and more. Dominant countries were Spain, Portugal,
but by 18th century's end the Dutch, then overtaken by the British
in the 19th century. Centralized control became important, the national
state common, and a social system called mercantilism emerged to serve
it. It then evolved into industrial capitalism but in a much more
primitive form than today.

Mercantilism
was based on national economic protection. International trade developed,
and the idea was to maximize exports, minimize imports, and use revenues
to finance government, wars, and greater expansion. It, in turn, led
to capitalism, nationalism, and industrialism and all the ills they
produce.

Colonialism
benefitted elitists who exploited cheap labor on stolen and occupied
lands. Millions were enslaved, and Dowd calls slavery "the worst
crime of all." It existed much earlier, but by the 17th and 18th
centuries burgeoned with trade to the Americas, especially the US
colonies. Rich agriculture was their strength, and slave labor maintained
it. Africa supplied it in the many millions.

Capitalism:
The Most Important of The Big Four

Capitalism
is a social as well as economic system, much like slavery was. First
and foremost, capitalists are a money-chasing "class" who've
found ways to rule the "entire social process." Not just
our work but what we think, and that's crucial. Witness the power
of Big Media in an age of mass communication with giant corporations
and their advertisers benefitting. They "shape our feelings,
thoughts, and behavior as both consumers and voters."

Dowd defines
capital and its components - the means of production, accumulation,
technological advance, a powerless working class, and finance to pay
for it. In the modern era, add another element - more than ever, government
partnered with business, and providing a legislative and subsidized
open field for profits at the expense of working people. The deck
is stacked in a zero sum game - business wins; people lose.

Consider
the "heart, brain and muscle of capitalism:"

-- its
heart - limitless exploitation of workers and the land;

-- its
brain - continued economic and geographic expansion; and

-- its
muscle - capitalist power and ability to rule society's economic,
political and social life.

Marx described
it as the exploitation of human beings and Mother Nature and the resulting
destruction of our humanity and fertility of the land. It goes back
to medieval England, the feudal era, a world of lords and serfs, the
emergent enclosure movement, and a powerless working class today called
"wage-slaves."

With technological
advances like the steam engine and textile machinery, industrialism
emerged in the early 19th century. Capitalism flourished, but for
workers life was "nasty, brutish and short." It still is
for 80% of people the way economist Paul Baran explained it in his
Political Economy of Growth. He observed what's just as true today:
"the rich become richer by causing the poor to become poorer."
Even worse, the poor get blamed for their own misfortune.

There are
plenty of them, including millions in America - far more than official
Census Bureau numbers that deliberately understate the problem at
about one-fifth of the population. Today, 68% of US workers earn less
than the Economic Policy Institute's living wage estimate for a family
of four - $14 an hour or about $30,000 a year. Even with two family
wage-earners, US poverty is likely double the Census Bureau number
- in the richest country in the world Dowd calls "the Unequal
Society of America."

Corporate
capitalism requires inequality - economic, political and social. Racism
is one of its defining features. It pits workers against each other
for a dwindling number of good jobs, weakens them, and strengthens
those with power. It shaped today's America, and consider a few of
our "firsts:"

-- the
number of mentally ill,

-- incarcerated,

-- without
health coverage or too little of it,

-- with
inadequate savings or none at all,

-- indebtedness,

-- homelessness,

-- ill-educated,

-- illiterate,

-- impoverished,

-- abused
children,

-- waste,

-- environmental
degradation,

-- nuclear
weapons stockpile,

-- a stated
intention to use them preemptively,

-- militarism
and the multi-trillions it costs,

-- the
amount of public fraud, and

-- much
more. Nowhere else are excesses and inequalities greater, and no country
is more able to avoid them, won't, and inflicts so much harm on so
many people everywhere.

Nationalism:
Your Country Can Do No Wrong

"Nations
and nationalism came into existence and strengthened as the needs
for their strength arose." It has nothing to do with patriotism
or love of country. It's a "blood brother of racism, militarism,
hate and fear" and belief one's country is superior and "can
do no wrong." It spawns imperialism that, in turn, feeds capitalism,
industrialism and nationalism. It spurs competition between nations
and is a frequent cause of war. It's key to understanding WWs I and
II, what's ongoing in the Middle East and Central Asia, and what may
lie ahead as nations vie for power, resources, markets, and cheap
labor.

Industrialism:
Invention Is the Mother of Necessity

It goes
beyond nonagricultural production. It's about large cities, a class
society, enough educated people, strong government, technological
advances, and a modern infrastructure. Dowd distinguishes between
the (first) industrial revolution with its steam and simple machinery.
It led to a second technological one because of chemistry and physics
advances. We're now in a third, it's global, and it's based on electronics,
biotechnology, information and plenty of high-octane finance. Decades
back, a high-school education sufficed. Today, one or more college
degrees are vital and in the right fields. Even then, good jobs are
disappearing - to low-wage countries, in growing numbers, so what's
left are fewer opportunities as the nation eats its seed corn.

That would
have been unimaginable when modern corporations emerged around 1855.
Necessity was the reason. Large-scale production needs capital and
more than individuals can raise. Corporations get it (like today)
by selling shares to investors. By the 1870s, an earlier version of
today's America emerged. One author called it the age of "Robber
Barons" with names still familiar to most. They were predators
very skilled at their trade - monopolizing markets, skimming millions
from corruption, speculating wildly, exploiting workers brutishly,
and getting away with it with friendly government help. It's no different
today except the stakes are greater and risks unimaginable.

Earlier,
mergers became common. Before WW I, they combined businesses producing
like things like steel and oil. By the 1920s, vertically conglomerates
emerged of the type so common today - like a GE owning appliance,
media, finance and other dissimilar companies.

They became
multinationals (MNCs) in the 1960s, then transnationals (TNCs) in
the 1980s operating everywhere. They're huge, powerful and in many
cases larger in GDP equivalent than their host countries. The buzzword
is globalization. Protests are for global justice. Little so far is
in sight. Hopefully it will come. The need is overwhelming, but challenges
against it are daunting:

-- hugely
powerful TNCs;

-- governments
in their pocket;

-- extremes
of wealth concentration and power increasing;

-- destructive
militarism for more; capitalism requires it;

-- people
exploitation enhances it;

-- consumerism
keeps it profitable;

-- efficiency
also as well collateral ecological fallout.

It's horrific
- enormous waste; destructive wars; and little relief in times of
peace: conglomerated production and agriculture; exploited labor;
extreme wealth disparities; commodifying everything; planned obsolescence;
productive overcapacity; unemployment and underemployment; racism;
people as production inputs to be used and discarded like waste; and
deep-seated levels of corruption.

As companies
grow, things worsen in our war-addicted economy profiting business
and government together - a mutually destructive alliance. Their gain
is civil society's loss, and the stakes keep getting greater. It's
what Dowd means by a world "at the cliff's edge."

Part II
- The Global Spread, Functioning, and Breakdown of Industrial Capitalism,
1815 - 1945 - From Imperialism to WW I

Dowd gives
a sweeping review of 130 years through WW II's end. Of necessity,
this account is briefer. Britain was dominant in the 19th and early
20th century through WW I. Inevitably it was challenged by Germany's
science and educational superiority and America's incomparable strengths.
These three nations and other European ones "unleashed the 19th
century version of colonialism. It was called imperialism (and it)
made colonialism look tame." By the late 19th century, resource
needs "were raging," and competition intense to secure them.

Consider
Africa - resource rich and "doomed to endure one set of disasters
after another." Slavery gave way to endless civil wars to ruthless
imperial exploitation. The Congo was typical and most important as
the continent's greatest prize - an abundance of ivory, cobalt, copper,
rubber, diamonds, gold, zinc, manganese and more in a country the
size of western Europe.

Belgium's
King Leopold took it as his private fiefdom, sucked out its riches
at the cost of millions of lives, and the country remained a colony
until post-WW II. Popular protests won liberation as in other African
states. Patrice Lumumba became its first Prime Minister. He wanted
Africa freed from European dominance, and he paid with his life for
his efforts. The continent is no better off today. America exploits
it most. Oil and its other resources are coveted, and no independent
leaders are tolerated.

The war
in Somalia and challenging Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe highlight the
continent's crisis (and nations everywhere). By 19th century's end,
European powers controlled all of it. Today America is preeminent
and intends to remain so.

Asian history
is similar and a lot more than about China and Japan. There's the
subcontinent, Central, and Southeast Asia for a vitally important
world region. Add the Middle East and its vast oil riches that were
discovered early in the last century.

The US
was least aggressive but not quiescent. In the 19th century, it took
America and half of Mexico, then added Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines,
Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Samoa, assorted other territories,
the Canal Zone and control of Cuba with in perpetuity Guantanamo Bay
rights so long as rent is paid or unless both countries back out by
mutual consent. Looking back, it was mere prelude to far greater 20th
century aims, especially post-WW II when they extended everywhere
and now include space.

1914-1945:
The Most Disastrous Years in History

Dowd is
blunt, and who can disagree. He calls the period between WWs I and
II "the most turbulent and disastrous in all of recorded history."
Economically the global economy suffered. Many countries endured depressions
that were only exceeded by the "most severe conflicts in their
history." Britain was one, and its economic troubles emerged
in the late 19th century. Brits created "the first world economy."
It was strongest militarily, the envy of all Europe, and it became
a recipe for rivalries. Who'd be able to create an empire first and
be strong enough to keep it. It led to WW I, a flawed peace, years
of chaos, conflict and convulsions leading to another great war that
the first one was supposed to prevent.

Except
for the Great Depression, America was spared, and is now the world's
only superpower. Post-WW I, the US emerged strengthened. For its part,
Britain was effectively bankrupt. The war took its toll as it did
against the continent's other combatants. It turned the 1920s into
years of "serious recession, economic slack, withdrawal from
international trade," and the rise of fascism as an antidote
to hard times. WW II was a war to end it. Instead, it merely slowed
it, then relocated it to America - first in "friendly" form,
but post-9/11 in increasingly new millennium despotism. What Peter
Dale Scott calls the "deep state" - unaccountable, lawless,
below the radar, self-serving against the public interest and operative
for decades but near omnipotent today. Its classic elements are mostly
evident and worrisome:

-- severe
repression;

-- de facto
one-party rule;

-- despotic
laws backing it;

-- courts
supporting it;

-- iron-fisted
militarism and "homeland security" enforcement;

-- a permanent
state of war;

-- institutionalized
illegal spying;

-- stifling
dissent;

-- stealing
elections;

-- a claimed
messianic mission;

-- outlandish
racism and targeting racial and ethnic groups on the pretext of fighting
"terrorism;" and

Post-WW
I, Dowd traced its rise in Italy, Germany, and Japan with a fundamental
lesson for today - democracy and freedom are fragile. Given the right
circumstances, they're easily manipulated and corrupted. Earlier the
world paid dearly. Today it still does. The dangers are overwhelming.

1945 -
1950: From the Ashes Arising

WW II left
most of Europe and large parts of Asia in ruins. America remained
untouched and triumphant. Rebuilding began but for a purpose - to
solidify US dominance, create foreign markets for business, and fabricate
a Soviet threat for an emergent military-industrial complex. Enter
the Marshall Plan, IMF, World Bank, GATT, the Cold War, NATO, and
stationing US forces everywhere in ways unimaginable for another country
to do here.

Japan became
"an immense aircraft carrier (and US) naval base...." West
Germany was much the same on the continent. The Depression was over,
the great war won, America was triumphant, so on to the next great
quest - advancing "capitalist development: monopoly capitalism
and the Cold War."

The Wars
in Korea and Vietnam

Liberation
helped neither country at a time of Cold War strategy. Things got
worse and then some - division; horrific wars; and millions killed,
wounded, displaced and immiserated. Wounds are still healing, South
Korea still occupied, the North isolated, tensions still high, and
Vietnam is chemically contaminated and a US offshore sweatshop.

Dowd reviews
the histories and concludes: "To those who cheer our 'victory'
in the Cold War, our fist-shaking against the 'axis of evil,' and
our 'mission accomplished' in Iraq, here is a request - Dear Uncle
Sam: Spare us your victories." They reveal deceit, betrayal and
conquest for world dominance.

More on
Dowd's book follows in Part II. Watch for it soon on this web site.

Stephen
Lendman is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research
on Globalization. He lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

Also visit
his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen
to The Global Research News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Mondays
from 11AM to 1PM US Central time for cutting-edge discussions with
distinguished guests. All programs are archived for easy listening.

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